Top News:
Jenna Amatulli / HuffPost:
Netflix has removed an episode of “Patriot Act With Hasan Minhaj” in Saudi Arabia after the country complained about MBS criticism over Khashoggi murder in show — In an episode of “Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj,” the host criticizes Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the Yemen war.
Discussion:
Financial Times, @anujchopra, Fast Company, @hashashintag, @karenattiah, @djrothkopf, @pranavdixit and @theseantcollins
Los Angeles Times:
Malware attack on Tribune Publishing's network disrupts the printing and distribution of Saturday editions of LA Times, WSJ, NYT, and other papers — What first arose as a server outage was identified Saturday as a malware attack, which appears to have originated from outside the United States …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, @mattdpearce, @jamiejbartlett, @hacks4pancakes, @rik_ferguson, New York Times, @mmasnick, @danicarlsonsays, Chicago Tribune, @mattdpearce, @brianstelter, @mattdpearce, sandiegouniontribune.com, @brianstelter, @mkirschenbaum, @mattdpearce, @jtaylorskinner, @kevincollier, @raju, @cshalby, @zeynep, @ericgeller, @dangoodin001, Newsweek, Engadget, Sun-Sentinel, CNET, BBC, Hollywood Reporter, NPR, ZDNet, HuffPost, Boing Boing, The Wrap, Reuters, The Hill, KTLA, CNN and The Week
Jeremy Fuster / The Wrap:
Cable network Fuse says it is being dropped by Comcast after December 31; Fuse CEO says “Comcast is silencing yet another independent media company” — Cable network CEO Michael Schwimmer criticizes Comcast for “silencing yet another independent media company”
Discussion:
Variety, Broadcasting & Cable, Deadline, Hollywood Reporter and Deadline
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Disney Media Networks and Verizon reach a new carriage deal, avoiding a conflict that could have taken ESPN football games off the air for Fios customers — Walt Disney and Verizon have struck a new carriage agreement, avoiding a showdown that might have taken popular ESPN college-football games away …
Discussion:
Engadget, Awful Announcing, The Wrap, The Week, Multichannel News, CNN, USA Today, The Hill and Broadcasting & Cable
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Sources: CBS and Nielsen failed to agree to a new contract by 12:01am Tuesday, with Nielsen execs concerned no-deal could destabilize the marketplace for TV ads — CBS, which distributes some of TV's most-watched programs, may have to use a new way to count its viewers.
Discussion:
@producercoop
Joe Marusak / The Charlotte Observer:
Facebook apologizes to Franklin Graham for suspending his ability to post for 24 hours and taking down a 2016 post about an NC bathroom law, restores the post — Facebook is apologizing to evangelist Franklin Graham for banning him from posting on the site for 24 hours last week …
Discussion:
@byronyork, @jaqs_the_ripper, @franklin_graham, Washington Post, @franklin_graham, Fox News, The Hill and The Daily Caller
Kenneth Li / Reuters:
Source: Netflix to hire Activision Blizzard's Spencer Neumann as its new CFO starting in early 2019; Activision said it intended to fire Neumann in a filing — (Reuters) - Netflix Inc is expected to announce in the next few days that it has poached media finance veteran Spencer Neumann …
Discussion:
CNBC, Reuters, Variety, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal and VentureBeat, more at Techmeme »
Ted Johnson / Variety:
Elizabeth Warren launches committee to explore 2020 presidential run with a video attacking Fox News, interspersing its hosts with Trump administration figures — WASHINGTON — Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) announced the formation of an exploratory committee to run for president in 2020 …
Discussion:
The Wrap, CBS Los Angeles, The Guardian, The Daily Caller, The Week, Mediaite and MediaPost
Adrian Ma / ideastream:
The Cleveland Plain Dealer is laying off 29 union employees after March 2019, mainly copy editors, page designers, and illustrators — Twenty-nine union employees at the Plain Dealer—mostly copy editors, page designers, and illustrators—will be laid off after March 2019, according to George Rodrigue …
Discussion:
@mccarthyryanj, @zagatam, @missrrosenberg, @danielleiat, @melissarhebert and @nickcastele
Derek Thompson / The Atlantic:
The news media is shifting to a post-ad future, away from dependence on advertisers to reliance on readers and patrons, and this is changing news coverage — Why the news is going back to the 19th century — It's my holiday tradition to bring tidings of discomfort and sorrow to my colleagues in the news business.
Discussion:
@anneapplebaum, @herrmanndigital, @pauldemko, @mrharrycole, @michaelluo, @rolandsmartin, @dkthomp and @moisesnaim
Brian Stelter / CNN:
Trump gave his final interview of 2018 to Fox News, his 41st with the network since his inauguration; Fox's biggest shows campaign for Trump almost every day — New York (CNN Business)President Donald Trump rang in the new year with his friends at Fox News — literally.
Abhimanyu Ghoshal / The Next Web:
Inside digital music piracy and sharing in the 2000s via P2P networks like Napster, LimeWire, Gnutella, as well as IRC and internet music service Audiogalaxy — A couple of decades ago - well before a $10 monthly fee would unlock access to virtually every song ever recorded through streaming services …